North West aggregate meetings

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Merseyside

The Socialist Party in Merseyside has seen many new members join our ranks and new branches set up across the area over the last few years.

Recently it was decided to start regular aggregate (joint combined branch) meetings for Merseyside and the first was held on 15 February in Liverpool with members from Wirral, Cheshire West and Merseyside taking part.

The first discussion was around the British Perspectives document for the party's 2012 national congress.

The discussion elaborated on a number of points in the document, including the Labour Party's insistence on attacking public sector workers. This is not just through condemning strike action but also agreeing to keep the Con-Dem coalition's cuts and supporting wage freezes if they won the next general election.

It was noted that there was particular scope to develop the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition in the upcoming May elections. TUSC candidates will be standing in Liverpool and Birkenhead.

A finance appeal raised around £200. The aggregate meetings will continue on a quarterly basis.

Alec Price, Cheshire West Socialist Party

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Greater Manchester

On 20 February Socialist Party activists from branches across Greater Manchester attended an aggregate meeting.

Those present heard Alec Price introduce a discussion on the British Perspectives 2012 congress document.

The discussion looked at the development of workers' struggle over the last year. This included key victories against council cuts locally in which Socialist Party members played a key role.

All present stated that although the situation for the working class in Britain looked severe, socialist ideas would receive an increasingly favourable hearing in the period ahead.